Payden & Rygel cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 146,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 38,300 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.2% of Payden & Rygel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $45,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $416,217,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 887,209 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $277,696,000 after acquiring an additional 93,293 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% in the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.4% in the third quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 72,608 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $17,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,666,577 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $405,131,000 after purchasing an additional 60,831 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $460.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore upped their target price on Alphabet from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 30th. CICC Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $388.00 to $407.91 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.13.
Key Alphabet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Alphabet secured a major cloud deal with SpaceX, adding a high-profile customer and boosting the investment case for its AI infrastructure business. SpaceX signs cloud deal with Google
- Positive Sentiment: New Street Research raised its price target on Alphabet to $455 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. MarketScreener
- Neutral Sentiment: Reports said Google’s AI search and chatbot products faced criticism after an audit found many chatbot responses on elections were flawed, which may keep pressure on Alphabet’s AI credibility. Over 90% of AI chatbot answers about midterm elections are flawed, stunning analysis shows
- Negative Sentiment: Alphabet’s large equity raise and higher AI capex guidance are still weighing on sentiment because investors are questioning how quickly those investments will pay off. Alphabet is seeking fresh capital as stock’s 4-week losing streak tests investor appetite
- Negative Sentiment: Google also faces regulatory pressure in the UK over publisher-content rules in AI search, adding another policy risk for the business. Google search facing UK ‘conduct requirement’
Insider Transactions at Alphabet
In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.63, for a total transaction of $178,701.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,923,235.59. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.26, for a total transaction of $412,923.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,341.06. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 193,016 shares of company stock valued at $17,282,549. Corporate insiders own 11.61% of the company’s stock.
Alphabet Stock Performance
NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $368.53 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.00 and a fifty-two week high of $408.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $352.70 and a 200-day moving average of $327.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information services provider reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $2.47. Alphabet had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 37.92%.The company had revenue of $109.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.98 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.
Alphabet Company Profile
Alphabet Inc is the holding company created in 2015 to organize Google and a portfolio of businesses developing technologies beyond Google’s core internet services. Its principal operations are led by Google, which builds and operates consumer-facing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Workspace, as well as advertising platforms (Google Ads and AdSense) that historically generate the majority of its revenue. Google also develops consumer hardware (Pixel phones, Nest smart-home devices, Chromecast) and developer and distribution platforms such as Google Play.
Beyond Google’s consumer and advertising businesses, Alphabet invests in enterprise and infrastructure offerings through Google Cloud, which provides cloud computing, data analytics and productivity services to businesses and institutions.
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